FDBusiness.com

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel UK, for the 12 weeks ending 12 May 2013, confirm the polarisation of the grocery market with excellent performances from Aldi and Waitrose.

Aldi has posted an all-time record share of 3.5%, increasing from 2.8% last year. The retailer’s successes also continued, as it set its highest ever year-on-year growth, 31.5%, over the past 12 week period.

Waitrose holds on to its record share of 4.9% reported last month, with growth of 12.0% − over three times the market average. Meanwhile, Lidl has also maintained its largest share of 3.0% and posted strong sales growth of 8.9%.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “The success of Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose are clear examples of how shopping habits are divided across the country. For many consumers, the discounters are increasingly becoming part of the weekly shop – supplementing trips to the big four retailers and offering a convenient and cheaper option. We expect this growth to continue, particularly as store expansion plans open up the discounters to a wider number of customers. This market polarisation also continues to pile the pressure on the big four grocers, with only Sainsbury’s beating the market and growing its market share this period.”

He adds: “Although Morrisons shows a share loss, it is worth noting that the retailer returned to growth in 2013 and continues this upward trend in the latest period − growing 1.2%. With its plans for online and accelerated convenience store coverage now in place, the retailer will hope that successful implementation will return it to share growth.”

Grocery inflation stands at 3.9% for the 12 week period ending 12 May 2013. This now matches the market growth which means that the pressure on households to trade down has lessened.